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12) Restaurants Reserve your favorite Disney table-service restaurants up to 180 days in advance of your trip.  Walk-ups can be difficult to get.

11) Break time Speaking of summer afternoons, consider returning to your hotel during the heat of the day, to swim and nap.  Return refreshed for the nighttime activities.

10) Rain In the summer, it rains every afternoon in central Florida.  Instead of leaving the parks, put on rain ponchos and keep going.  The parks often empty out when it starts raining, but the rain only lasts 15-20 minutes.  In the meantime, you can take advantage of shorter lines.

9) Exiting the Magic Kingdom Leaving the Magic Kingdom at closing via the monorail?  Take the Resort Monorail instead of the Express.  You can usually get on the monorail immediately, while the Express will be backed up with extremely long lines.

8) Characters Use character meals to meet your favorite characters, instead of standing in long lines at the parks.

7) Strollers If you have a stroller, attach a bright ribbon, scarf or balloon to the handle so that you can quickly identify it and won’t spend valuable time looking for it after you exit an attraction. Cast members may move your stroller, in an effort keep the area organized.

6) Water Get free cups of water at any counter-service location in the Disney parks. 

5) Groceries If you drink soda, be aware Disney serves only Coke.  Order your favorite drinks and snacks to be delivered to your hotel room when you arrive.  There are several options for this service. 

4) Park days Both Magic Kingdom and Epcot require 2 full days each to experience properly.  Otherwise, you’ll have to make some tough choices.  Animal Kingdom is now a full-day park.  As of this writing, the Disney Studios is currently under construction and is really just half a park.  Still, you should plan for one day, as there are some ...

3) Fastpass Fastpass is Disney’s version of a ride reservation system, which will save you significant time waiting in line.  There is no extra charge for fastpass.  Everyone starts with 3 per day.  Use them to your advantage.  *Bonus tip: If you’re traveling with teens or adults only, consider using the single-rider line (wherever offered) to save significant time.